Vendor Reviews! (Ridiculously long)

So this is ridiculously late and ridiculously long.  I never realized how many different vendors we worked with until I made this huge list!  Holy cow!Florist:  Irene's Flowers and Exotic Plants (we worked with Linda)http://www.iaflorist.com/ A+  We have known Linda for a number of years now and knew she does amazing work, but I was still shocked at how perfect the flowers turned out.  We wanted a very loose, free wildflowery feel, and with only some vague descriptions like that she created exactly the sorts of decorations and bouquets we wanted.  She's easy to work with, very reasonably priced, and wonderfully reliable.  I couldn't recommend her more! Photographer:  Inspired Images, Erik Notzhttp://inspired-images.net/A+  Erik is always a pleasure to talk to and really laid-back, which is a great personality for someone in his position to have.  We haven't gotten our final wedding pics back yet, but if they're anything like the teasers he showed then they're everything and more that I wanted.  We were thrilled with our engagement pictures, that's for sure!  Really, we couldn't be happier with him.  Hair/Makeup:  Salon Whttp://mysalonw.comA  I was thrilled with my hairdo for my trial, and it turned out even better for the real deal.  And all of my bridemaids' hair turned out great, too!  My makeup was waaay too heavy for the trial, but when I went back for the wedding day, I talked to them about the makeup situation (and let my gals know to make their preferences known) and everyone's makeup was done perfectly.  The atmosphere was calm and pleasant, even on Saturday morning.  Overall, I was thrilled with them!  Dresses:  David's Bridal on University Ave, Clivehttp://www.davidsbridal.com/A  I know DB has a reputation, but every store is different.  We got my dress, the bridesmaids' dresses, and my mom's dress all at this DB.  The gals at the Clive location took really good care of us!  I had to make sure they ordered me a new dress instead of just giving me the dress off the rack, and then a little after that dress arrived I exchanged it for a size smaller (yay!) and they didn't put up a fuss.  For alterations, I only needed my dress bustled, which they did very well and inexpensively.  DJ:  Parm's Porta Partyhttp://www.parmsportaparty.com/ B-  Knowing our friends and family I wasn't expecting too much dancing.  At the end of the night I didn't really have any huge complaint about the DJ, but I wasn't really in love either.  A good friend who always just tells it like it is said it was too bad the DJ kind of sucked, so there's that.  The one thing that annoyed me (and dropped his grade a bit) was that on the worksheet that we dutifully filled out and sent to him a month before the wedding, we said we'd like at least one good salsa song, and he waited until the middle of the reception to ask me what song I wanted played so he could download it.  Ceremony venue:  Clare and Miles Mills Rose Garden, behind the Des Moines Art Centerhttp://www.dmgov.org/departments/pr/rosegarden.htm A  This is a gorgeous location, great price, easy to deal with, and did I mention that it's gorgeous??Reception venue:  Baratta's Terrace at the State Historical Buildinghttp://www.culturalaffairs.org/facility/rental_information.htm A  See the rose garden's review above - I felt exactly the same about the State Historical Building!  Awesome, awesome venue! Caterer:  Baratta'shttp://barattas.com/ A+  This is by far the best wedding food I've ever had.  Seriously.  And this is disregarding the bias of it being my own wedding.  They worked with us to make exactly the menu we wanted, and it was really delicious.  The prices were very reasonable, too.  And we had everything served family style, which was a huge hit.  Cake:  Indulgent Moments, Tom Carmichaelhttp://www.indulgentmoments.com/A+  Again, this is by far the best wedding cake I've ever had.  And the pricing was really great, too.  The cake is moist, the frosting is really delicious and not too sweet, and he has a huge selection of flavors available.  We ordered cake for about 40 more guests than we actually had, and ended up with only 10 pieces left.  I think that really speaks for itself!  We also had guest blocks at the Savery and at the Hilton Garden Inn in Johnston, and we spent the wedding night at the Savery.  Our experiences with both of hotels were great!  And these were other businesses that we had overall great experiences with, and all of whom I would highly recommend to other brides (let me know if you're interested in more info!): Favors (chocolate bars):  Suzette's Candy http://www.suzettecandies.com/  Ceremony rentals:  Des Moines Rentalhttp://www.desmoinesrental.com/  My shoes:  Dance Shoes Onlinehttp://danceshoesonline.com/  (And a plug that dance shoes are awesome for wedding shoes - I was in 3 1/2 inch heels for 12 hours, on my feet most of that time, with no problem at all!) Flower girl dresses:  Flower Girl Dress for Lesshttp://www.flowergirldressforless.com/  Rehearsal Dinner:  Court Avenue Brewing Companyhttp://www.courtavebrew.com/  Sunday Brunch:  Renaissance Savery http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/dsmbr-renaissance-savery-hotel/  Wedding website:  MomentVillehttp://www.momentville.com/  Paper and envelopes:  Anchor Paper (I worked with Tom)http://www.anchorpaper.com/  Envelope Mallhttp://envelopemall.com/  Swarovski beads for jewelry:  Art Beadshttp://www.artbeads.com/  Also, my jewelry and the bridesmaids' jewelry was made by a dear friend (who was also a bridesmaid), and the string quartet that provided the ceremony music is led by a family friend and mother of another bridesmaid.  They all do amazing work, so let me know if you would like their contact info.  Let me know if I forgot anything, or if you want any more information (as if anyone would put up with this being any longer)!  And I hope this helps you in planning!  :-)